Humans
The most numerous, yet most divided of all the races in Thedas, the humans have only ever united beneath a single banner four times. Divided into many different nations and countries, each with their own cultural identities and ambitions, the humans of Thedas have shaped the land's history, and now must safeguard its future. Physical Humans are the standard race that occupies most of Thedas. An average male has a height of around 177 centimetres, or 5' 10" (5 feet and ten inches), with women generally being slightly shorter. Human appearance differs greatly from region to region. The people of the southern lands such as Ferelden or Orlais are typically caucasian, while those in the warmer, northern lands such as Antiva or Tevinter have a more tanned complexion. Humans exhibited a wide range of eye and hair colours. History Human history is in many ways the history of Thedas, and is often long and complex. The first humans arrived in Thedas from the north beyond Par Vollen, being initially welcomed by the then ruling elves who taught them of lyrium and the Fade, tutoring the first of the human mages. As the elves withdrew from human contact, the humans claimed more and more land, organising themselves more efficently. From the vaccum of power left by the elves, the Tevinter Imperium, first of the great nations of man, came to be. Human dominion was secured when the Tevinter magisters used their magical prowess to lead the humans in a victorous war with the elves, enslaving the elves and sinking their captial of Arlathan. The Imperium spread to conquer most of Thedas, with the magisters ruling the humans by virtue of their magical powers. Years later, in a misguided attempt at apotheosis, a group of magisters sacrificed hundred of slaves and used vast quantities of lyrium in an attempt to physically enter the Fade using blood magic. They returned to the world as the first of the tainted darkspawn, unleashing the first Archdemon Dumat and the First Blight. The fighting shattered the power of the Imperium, now rife with civil unrest, until the newly formed Grey Wardens defeated Dumat and ended the Blight. Since then, humaity has faced and fought four more Blights, each killing thousands and tainting the land. With the Imperium still reeling from the wars with the darkspawn, the prophetess and escaped slave Andraste began the first Exalted March against Tevinter's mage rulers. Bringing a barbarian army from nothern Ferelden with her, Andraste inspired many slaves to revolt, Andraste won many battles against the Imperium before she was betrayed by her mortal husband Maferath to the magisters. She was burned at the stake by the rulers of the Imperium, her rebellion supposedly ended. The Archon Hessarian granted her mercy, however, and converted to follow the teaching Andraste had laid out in the Chant of Light. With the founding of the Chantry, the magisters lost considerable influence as they were forced into the first of the Circle of Magi. Coupled with numerous uprisings and rebellions from places such as Rivain and the Anderfels, the Imperium could no longer keep fighting. The magisters eventually surrended to the Chantry, converting to Andrastrianism. The Chantry later split into two diffferent branches, with the Tevinter Imperium breaking away from the Orlesian Chantry to form its own Imperial Chantry with more magic friendly views, allowing the magisters to reclaim their former political power. During the Steel Age, Thedas was first attacked by the Qunari forces from the north. For the first time since the schism, the Imperial and Orlesian Chantry's allied to call numerous Exalted Marches against the bronze-skinner invaders, pitting the magic of the humans against the technology of the Qunari.While most of Thedas later signed a peace accord with the Qunari, giving the Quanri the northern archipelago in return for the armistice, Tevinter refused to sign the accors, and remains locked in a state of war with the Qunari, focused on the island of Seheron. Following the recent events in Kirkwall and the Battle at the Gallows, the humans stand on the brink of full-scale war between the mages of the Circles and the Templars of the Chantry. Nearly everyone has an opinion on the matter, and it only through the actions of calmer heads and rational rulers that war has not yet broken out. The amges continue to call for change, however, and the Templars remain adamant that mages cannot be allowed their freedom. Unless something changes soon, the humans will find themselves decimated by yet another war of their own making. Religion In the days when the Tevinter Imperium rules most of Thedas, the humans worshiped a pantehon of gods now known as the Old Gods, whom the Tevinter magisters claim first taught them blood magic. Taught by the Chantry to have been false gods who turned humanity away from the Maker, these dragonic gods were cast down and sealed away, supposedly by the Maker himself. Since then, five of the seven have been found and tainted by the darkspawn, reappearing as the dreaded Archdemons who lead the Blights. The seven Old Gods are, or were: 1) Dumat, the Dragon of Silence and Archdemon of the First Blight 2) Zazikel, the Dragon of Chaos and Archdemon of the Second Blight 3) Toth, the Dragon of Fire and Archdemon of the Third Blight 4) Andoral, the Dragon of Slaves and Archdemon of the Fourth Blight 5) Urthemiel, the Dragon of Beauty and Archdemon of the Fifth Blight 6) Razikale, the Dragon of Mystery 7) Lusacan, the Dragon of Night Most humans now follow the Chantry born of the Cult of Andraste, revering a divine Maker and Andraste as his holy bride and prophetess. Teaching that the Maker has turned away from the world as a result of the brutality and treachery he saw there, the view of the Chantry is that non-humans need saving and bringing into the Chantry's light. The ultimate goal of the Chantry is to spread the Chant of Light to all areas of the world, believing that doing so will convince the Maker of the world's piety and purity and convince him to return to his followers. The Chantry teaches that magic exists to serve man, and never to rule over him. As a result of this, as well as the inherent fear of mages being possessed or using blood magic, the Chantry forces mages into the Circles of Magi, there to be watched by the Templars and kept away from the world. Those who evade the Circle or escape are named apostates, and are hunted down by the Templars. It was this view on magic, however, that led to the split between the Orlesian and Imperial Chantries, with the Imperial Chantry arguing for a more pro-mage interpretation of the Chant of Light. In Tevinter, mages are allowed more freedoms and political power as a result of the schism, with the current Black Divine being elected straight from the Circle. The Orleisan Chantry has a priesthood comprised entirely of women, with men being allowed to serve in non-ordained junior positions as clerks and academics. The overall Orleisan Chantry is led by the White Divine in Val Royeaux, and below her the grand clerics. In contrast, the Imperial Chantry allows men to be ordained, and the current Black Divine of the Imperial Chantry is a man. Society and Culture Human society in Thedas is, for the most part, a feudal system with clear class distinctions. Those in the upper, ruling classes often put importance on the appearance of honour and chivalry,while those lower down the social scale and often more content with just surviving. All humans have ambitions and dreams, however, which shape their personalities and goals - most common among these being the pursuit of wealth and influence. Religion and the Chantry play a large part in human society. It distinguishes them culturally from elves and dwarves more than anything else, and offers them a larger purpose and a sense of unity in times of peril. Human culture varies wildly from place to place, and is often shaped by the environment. In Orlais, for instance, humans celebrate elaborate fashions and the arts, wheras in the neighbouring Ferelden simply practicality and strong family bonds are emphasised. The people of the Anderfels are renowned as determined and skilled warriors, while the people of Antiva are cast as either a rich merchant-lord or an untrustowrthy thief or assassin. All in all, human culture is hard to define, with the only real constant being the amount of variation and change that there is. Humans at Fortress of Glass Here at Fortress of Glass, we welcome original human characters, and also offer some select human canons. Below is a list of features which apply to humans on the site: 1) Humans may be warriors, rogues or mages. 2) Humans may be of any nationality 3) Human mages may be Circle mages or apostates 4) Human warriors may be a member of the Templar Order, gaining unrestricted access to the Templar specilization Redirect *Main Page *Site Backstory *Playable Races *Registration Details Category:Races Category:Humans